Railroad-crossing gate



L. DAVIDSON.

RAILROAD CROSSING GATE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-4,1919.

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RAILROAD CROSSING GATE. APPLICATION FILED 0e14, 1919.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

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L.'DAVIDSON.

RAILROAD CROSSING GATE.

APPLICATION HLED 0014,1919.

1 ,374,828, Patented Apr. 1921.

3 SHEETS- T 3.

I ol 2 7 a 29 G UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LESTER DAVIDSON, OF FISHER, ILLINOIS. I

RAILROAD-CROSSING GATE.

Application filed October 4, 1919. Serial No. 328,345.

To oil whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, Lns'rnn DAVIDSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fisher, in the county of Champaign and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Crossing Gates, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention isto provide a simple, relatively inexpensive and eiiiclent safety device, as a means of guarding against accidents at crossings, by insuring the closing of the gate by the approaching train and reopening the same after the crossing has been effected, and to this end the invention consists in a construction, combination, and relation of parts of which a preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that changes in form and proportion may v be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the principles involved.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view showing a gate and a sufiicient portion of-the track at either side thereof to indicate the location of the 7 the trip mechanism taken on the plane of.

one oi. the supporting means.

Flg. 7 1s a transverse sectlonal view of the same on the plane of the other supporting means.

Fig. 8 is a detail elevation of the shoe and its connection.

The gate mechanism which is designed for location adjacent to a cross road indidated at 10 in intersection with the railroad having tracks at 11, includes a post 12 upon which is pivotally mounted a gate 13 havingv a terminal leg or standard 14 for limiting the downward swinging movement of the gate arm and insuring the stability of the latter, and an upright 15 properly and substantially braced as at 16 to the post and having suitable guides. 17 and 18, Fig. 3, such as pulleys or rollers for the chain or wire elements of a pull connection 19 which is attached to the rear or tail end 13- of the gate arm, the latterbeing yieldingly held in its upright or inoperative position, and it being returned whenreleased to said position by a spring20 or equivalent counterbalanclng yielding means.

In connection with the gate arm there is employed aclutch mechanism consisting for example of the ratchet wheel 21, and a pawl 22 yieldingly held by a spring 23 in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet, so that when the gate has been moved into its lowered, substantially horizontal, or operative position, the clutch will serve to lock the same in that position until released by the disengagement of the pawl-from said ratchet.

Arranged upon one of the track rails at a sufficient distance from the crossing to give ample time to permit pedestrians and drivers on the cross-road to avoid danger, is a shoe 21 forming an element of the trip for engagement by the foremost wheel of an approaching train, said shoe having rounded beveled extremities 25 and being yieldingly and movably supported in the path of such wheels by means of supporting arms 26 and 27 pivoted as at 28 and 29 to a fish-plate 3 or the equivalent thereof. The

upper extremities of these arms are piv otally connected with the shoe and the arm 27' is provided with cushioning springs 31 and 32 hearing against the pivot 29 and serving to hold the connected end of the shoe in an elevated position while permitting the depression thereof as the shoe is engaged by the flange of a car wheel in order to cushion the jar and avoid injury to the mechanism. A spring connection 33 is employed to return the arm 26 and hence the shoe and the connected arm 27 to normal position after depression by a train moving in the opposite direction to that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5, (the gate mechanism not being actuated by said movement) and when the shoe is moved in the opposite direction or in the same direction as indicated by the arrow, a strain is placed upon the wire or connection 19, hereinbefore referred to as extending over the guides on the upright 15, to effect the lowering of the gate arm to its operative position. A strain reducing spring 34 is arranged in the connection 19 so as to break the movement of the shoe.

At a corresponding or suitable distance at the opposite side of the crossing a similar shoe or trip mechanism is arranged as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, operating in connection with the trip wire or connection which extends to the pawl 22 for disengaging the latter from the ratchet to permit the return of the gate arm to its normal or inoperative position. i

-What I claim is:

1. The combination with a pivotal counter-balanced crossing gate and clutch mechanism for securing the same in its extended or operative position, of successively operative trip mechanisms flexibly connected respectively with said gate and clutch for operating and releasing the gate, the gate operating trip having a movable shoe, located adjacent to a track rail, and pivotal supporting means yieldingly held in normal position for returning the shoe to its operative position, one of said means being constructed to permit depression of the shoe.

2. The combination with a pivotal counter-balanced crossing gate and clutch mechanism for locking the same in its operative position, of operating and releasing trip jar incident to the mechanisms respectively connected with said gate and clutch mechanism and consisting of a shoe arranged adjacent tova track rail for engagement by a car wheel, pivotal arms 'yieldingly supporting said shoe for movement parallel with the track rail, and a yielding means for returning the shoe to its normal position, one of said supporting arms being provided with cushioning springs for permitting depression of the adjacent portion of the shoe.

8. The combination with a pivotal counter-balanced crossing gate and clutch mechanism forlocking the same in its operative position, of trip mechanisms respectively connected with said gate and the clutch mechanisms for actuating the same, each of said trip mechanisms having a shoe for movement parallel with a track rail, pivotal arms for supporting said shoe in position for engagement by a car wheel, one of said means consisting of a pivotal arm having cushioning springs for permitting depression of the adjacent portion of the shoe, and the return spring for restoring the shoe to its normal position after longitudinal displacement.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

LESTER DAVIDSON. 

